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Week 4
<- Back to Home Tables Tables are very important to consider when planning the design for a web page. Tables are one of the primary design tools for HTML documents and serve several functions within the web page itself. Tables allow for greater control over the page layout, when properly used, allowing for a more visually appealing presentation. Tables are mainly used to assist in creating a web page with grid and column layouts. These grids and columns allow for a developer to efficiently group parts of the web page together or effectively separate other parts if necessary. Some of the different aspects of a web page that could be separated from the other elements in a web page that would benefit from a table would consist of sidebars, navigation bars, or even just framing images and their titles/captions. However, some of the draw backs from using tables is the potential of the tables format not being fully supported by every browser. A developer may get the web page looking the exact way they want, only to find it looks slightly, or totally, different in other browsers. Therefore it is important to ensure a wide range of web browsers are being taken in account while developing these table formatted web pages in order to either negate or minimize different appearances in different browsers. By: John Saxon Forms One of the most essential elements of web development, collecting data inputs and providing results necessary for many business'. Forms transition the static text boxes within a website, and allow for server-side scripting to initiate a desired response. Just like CSS, the tag possibilities are endless, and HTML 5 worked to expand the capabilities even further than before. New attributions like "required", "email", or "slider", have allowed for even more personalized development for web based forms. The most common form is knows as the "Contact Form". Usually consisting of a "Name" text box, an "Email" text box a "Subject" optional text box, and a larger "Description" text box. Each of these elements are given a name and id tag to associate them with their given properties. Name is mainly used for server-side processing and PHP, while id is used for CSS and client-side scripting. With the addition of a submit button and a scripting reference, the elements in this form are emailed to the specified email within the HTML programming. This idea generates appreciation for the development forms, as today's Contact Us pages would look a lot different without them. Positioning Themes are generally thought to consist of color(s), fonts, and content structure. However, positioning of the content is just as important. When a site presents a consistent layout, it gives the visitor a comfortable and familiar feel when navigating pages. SLight deviations on the front page and/or pages offer the ability to highlight major updates, big news, or important information. Positioning also dictates how the site is read, if read at all. The human mind is comfortable with symmetrical shapes and patterns, and while it is generally not recommended to stagger content, as long as it follows a pattern, visitors will settle in after a few moments. The site also assumes basic web etiquette, such as menus are generally at the top header of a page near the logo and site name, or at the top in the left or right margin. Copyright is usually at the bottom, or footer of the page(s). When positioning content on the site, it is best to have the mindset of a publisher: Readers will only read the title, and possibly first few sentences of an article/content. It is the developer's job to make the information available within a few scrolls of the mouse and keep audience interest.